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SUBJECT: Numbers 15:18 Fringes
QUESTION: Are we supposed to be wearing fringes today?
What were the fringes for?
ANSWER:
First the verses in question:
Numbers 15:38
Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they
make them fringes in the borders of their garments
throughout their generations, and that they put upon the
fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
Deuteronomy 22:12
Thou shalt make thee fringes upon the four quarters of thy
vesture, wherewith thou coverest thyself.
Let us take a look at the context of this demand to have
fringes on the garments. Before we do, let us take a look
at a Bible dictionary to fully understand what a fringe is.
FRINGES
ziziyth. Numbers 15:38 translated "that they add to the
fringes of the borders (corners)
a thread of blue, ... that ye may look upon it and remember
all the commandments of the Lord and do them" (Deuteronomy
22:12). The ordinary outer garment was a quadrangle of
cloth, to the four corners of which a tassel was attached.
Each tassel had a thread of deep blue, marking the heavenly
origin of the commandments of which it was to remind them.
The Pharisees "enlarged" the fringes to gain note for piety
(Matthew 23:5). Latterly the Jews have worn the
fringed taliyth of a smaller size, as an under dress,
especially at the synagogue morning prayer. The ziziyth on
the sky-blue thread would be constantly before the
Israelites' eyes, in order that, reminded thereby
continually of God's commandments they might not turn their
feet to the seductions of the world (Proverbs 4:25-26;
3:3; Revelation 19:8). The woman with the issue of blood
touched Christ's hem, as the sacred part (Matthew 9:20).
~from Fausset's Bible Dictionary
There is information on the Internet regarding this subject:
By far the most information I’ve seen in one place on this
topic is a site called “Bluethread” (http://www.bluethread.com/).
The portion of the site discussing this in particular is at
http://www.bluethread.com/tzitzit.htm. Tzitzit
are not the only bone of contention between Orthodox and
Reform Jews. If one wants to keep all 613 laws in the Old
Testament, one will in essence be an orthodox Jew. Reform
Jews have shed many of the traditions embodied in the laws
of Moses since the Industrial Age, and this is an example of
one.
Summary:
At the same time that God commanded the Israelites to wear
fringes, similar fringes were also worn by the Assyrians and
Babylonians. They were considered ornate and denoted
someone of rank or nobility. In some cultures fringes were
pressed into clay tablets like a seal or signature. The
Jewish tradition of pressing one’s fringe to the Talmud
during prayer may reflect this custom. In another custom, a
request made of a person while grasping that person’s fringe
could not be refused. This is evidently what was happening
in Matthew 9:20 and Matthew: 14:36, as the word translated
as “hem” in the KJV can also mean “fringe” or “tassel”. A
Tallit in those days would had been made of linen,
but linen doesn’t dye well, thus a fringe would have been
make of wool. This contradicts Deuteronomy 22:11, yet
garments of “divers sorts” were worn by the priesthood.
This one exception meant that every Israelite was in a sense
wearing a priestly garment.
The blue thread or “ribband of blue” in Numbers 15:38 had
meaning as well. The blue dye to make this thread came from
Murex snails that lived in the Mediterranean. It was very
expensive, and this may be why it was only required to have
one thread of blue. One tribe had the task of harvesting
the snails and making the dye, and quantities of discarded
shells tell us where this took place. The Romans placed a
great deal of value on this dye as well and took over the
industry during their occupation. Jews eventually lost the
knowledge of how to make the dye, and Tzitzit were
then all white until the rediscovery of this dying
technology in the 19th Century.
During the Middle Ages fringes are mentioned by scholars of
the time, but we can also infer that the average Jew, at
least in Europe, did not commonly wear them. We know this
because of many edicts requiring Jews to dress in such a way
that they could be easily segregated from Christians, for
which purpose Tzitzit certainly would have sufficed.
It is equally likely that Jews of that time avoided wearing
them to escape persecution.
The Jewish Reform movement that began during the Age of
Enlightenment dropped the wearing of the Tallit
completely, as they wanted to adopt the dress styles of
those around them, even during religious services. This has
somewhat reversed itself during the 20th Century
and many Reform Jews now wear them to temple and during
prayer.
Today, orthodox Jewish males wear a Tallit when
going about their daily business, and most reformed Jews
wear them to temple if at all. The Orthodox and
Conservative movements have prescribed tenets of where and
how they are to be worn, but the Reform movement has no one
set of rules that are universally followed. The Orthodox
arguments can be outlined as:
--It is commanded by Mosaic law
--It sets us apart
--It reminds us to keep God’s commandments
--It is a tradition that binds us together and a symbol of
our identity
Whereas the Reform arguments can be outlined as:
--Fringes had a wealth of meaning in Biblical times that are
almost completely irrelevant today
--They were meant to be worn on garments that today are no
longer available, fashionable or practical
---end---
Now the context, showing why this command was given:
Numbers 15:32-39
32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness,
they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day.
33 And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto
Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
34 And they put him in ward, because it was not declared
what should be done to him.
35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put
to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones
without the camp.
36 And all the congregation brought him without the camp,
and stoned him with stones, and he died; as the LORD
commanded Moses.
37 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
38 Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they
make them fringes in the borders of their garments
throughout their generations, and that they put upon the
fringe of the borders a ribband of blue:
39 And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look
upon it, and remember all the commandments of the LORD, and
do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your
own eyes, after which ye use to go a whoring:
What God is doing here is showing His lament that His chosen
people were so easily forgetting His commandments. Remember
that these people did not have the Holy Spirit in them. The
fringes served to remind them of the law. It was part of
the sacrificial law system, which looked forward to Jesus
Christ coming to this earth. The sacrificial system was
discontinued after the New Testament church was
established. It will be reinstated at the return of Jesus
Christ for the same reason; to teach people about God and to
bring them to Jesus Christ.
Today we have God’s Holy Spirit and God’s Law is IN us. We
do not need the fringes to remind us of the commandments of
God.
Though the woman with an issue of blood touched the hem of
Jesus garment (Matthew 9:20), there is nothing
significant said regarding the wearing or purpose of fringes
in the New Testament. In fact, when Jesus mentions them, He
is rebuking the Pharisees for making a show of their
righteousness by enlarging their fringes (Matthew 23:5).
The fringes were a physical type of what the Holy Spirit
does for a firstfruit Christian today. Remember that God
once, with His own finger, wrote the law on tablets of
stone, but we do not each carry around such tablets today.
We sacrificed animals in the Old Testament as a physical
type of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Since His sacrifice,
we no longer sacrifice animals. Such is the case with the
fringes. What are fringes when compared to the Holy Spirit?
Jeremiah 31:33
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will
put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Hebrews 8:9-11
9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their
fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them
out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my
covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house
of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my
laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I
will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and
every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall
know me, from the least to the greatest.
Note:
This law is written upon the hearts and minds by the
indwelling of the Holy Spirit. This is what firstfruit
Christians experience today.
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